They can be found for anywhere from $200-$400. Most of these lenses were produced with an M42 mount, but make sure you double check before you purchase one. It also can focus down to 6.3 inches, which is unheard of with a lens of this stature. It’s images are never distorted, even when you stop down to f/22, and while it has a 6-bladed diaphragm it handles highlights well and almost never produces a honeycomb pattern. It was produced from 1963 to 1978, again in East Germany, and is known for taking shots that compare with any of its modern counterparts.
This is probably the most fun lens on the list because it’s a gigantic ultra-wide-angle prime. Best Vintage Lenses: Carl Zeiss Jena 20mm f/4 Flektogon It also uses an M42 mount, which is convenient for those of us looking to get away with a vintage lens on the cheap. It’s got excellent depth-of-field control, can isolate a subject in a way not many lenses of this generation can, and is built to last. This lens was crafted from 1968-1971 and is known for its natural rendition, even though is uses a 6-bladed diaphragm. This is absolutely the best lens money can buy on this list and it’s because this lens can be found for anywhere between $75 and $125. Best Vintage Lenses: Super Takumar 135mm f/2.5 This lens, unlike the previous two, uses an A mount.Īs you can see in JoshuaStokesFilms lens test, this lens produces blue-tinted flares in a classic vintage lens way. You can pick one up for around $600-$1,000. This is one of the more expensive lenses on my list. So, this lens shoots insanely sharp photos, but it can’t soft focus at all. This lens uses apodization to thin the light at the edges of the lens in order to transition smoothly between in-focus and out-of-focus fields. Shao Zhang via WikimediaĮver heard of the Sony 135mm f/2.8 STF telephoto lens? This is that lens’s grandfather.
Here is a list of current cameras that will work with this lens and an M42 adaptor:īest Vintage Lenses: Minolta STF 135mm f/2.8 T45 Shooting with this lens is like shooting a neo-noir without trying! I found a video by John Elfers that perfectly captures what I love best about this lens, it’s creamy close-ups: Plus, this lens also utilizes an M42 mount.
#PICTURE STYLE CANON VINTAGE PLUS#
This lens can focus down to 13.8 inches, which is a huge plus for those of you who are into vintage-styled extreme close-ups. This lens was crafted in East Germany from 1969 to 1990 and is mostly used for portraiture given it’s smooth transitions, sharpness and bokeh. Here is a list of current cameras that will work with this Pentax lens and a M42 adaptor:īest Vintage Lenses: MC Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f/1.8Ĭarlosdisogra via Wikimedia Commons M42 lens mounts are also so popular that you can pick up a M42 adaptor for almost all DSLRs. Vintage lens photography on this Pentax is relatively easy because it has an M42 lens mount, which means this lens can attach to 35mm cameras, mostly single-lens reflex models, without any hassle. You can find one of these bad boys for somewhere between $200 and $300. This lens was created from 1962 to 1971, and unlike a similar Pentax that was created around the same time, the 85mm f/1.9 Super Takumar has no radioactive components (although I’m a little daring and might shoot with it for the day regardless). This Pentax lens is best known for taking sharp photos at wide apertures, beautiful bokeh and honeycomb-shaped highlights that most consider an issue, but I consider a nice bonus. He says, in reference to the Pentax 85mm, “this thing is built to outlast me.”Īnd they just don’t make lenses like that anymore. What Mark Holtze covers in this video is what I love best about vintage lenses. Table of Contentsīest Vintage Lenses: Pentax 85mm f/1.8 Super Takumar So, here are our 5 favorite vintage lenses that work with DSLRs. The issue, though is that when you go to buy a vintage lens you need to know exactly what you’re looking for because the vintage lenses that are still around on the market today are still around because they offer something exquisitely different than every other vintage lens.īasically, if you don’t know what type of a vintage lens you’re looking for, you could accidentally end up buying something that 1) doesn’t work with your DSLR and 2) doesn’t work with the look you’re going for.
#PICTURE STYLE CANON VINTAGE MANUAL#
Besides, there’s something so satisfying about a manual focus lens, isn’t there? It adds nostalgia to them in a way that is both genuine and kitschy, depending upon how you shoot. Vintage lenses add what no other piece of photography can to your photos. I love vintage lenses, and it’s my guess that you do too.